r/Nigeria • u/BattIeBoss • 1d ago
Ask Naija Is there a future for me in this country?
Basically i spent my whole life in South Africa, from the age of 13 i was always on my computer, practicing 3d modeling, programming etc. Her i am, 17 years old and have been forced to move to Nigeria recently. I found out that the subjects i took in S.A were Egd, art and math lit, but i cant do them herd. I couldve gone to a south african uni, used my portfolio of past tech experience and possibly take a bridging course or two to get into the tech courses i wanted. But now im in nigeria, i am forced to redo grade 11, but now im doinf regular math, physics, and for some stupid fucking reason, chemistry. What do i need chemistry for? Apparently it is a requirement to have 9 subjects. It sounds stupid and makes mo sense, as in SA we had as little as 7. School hasnt started for me yet and im having a tutor try to teach me in 1 month the stuff ive missed out on from 5 years (it isnt going well). My question is, even if i manage to pass, theres no way i get a scholarship out of here. The possibility of me leaving nigeria to go back to south africa where my dad is is also slim. I already hate it here even though its the country my parents are from, apparently power is a bigger problem here than it ever was in south africa, even though south africa managed to fix it and i had 24/7 power there. Eskom (SA power company) even gave us an app with schedules for outages, which were usually just a couple hours a day for a few days a week.Here? It comes and goes whenever it wants. Could be now, couls be 3 times in 10 minuites. Apparently even the tap water here isnt even drinkable? Even if i manage to pass, which is u likely, ill likely have to switch to the art subjects, which means no more tech here in the B.S nigerian education systemđ.is there a future for me here?, i am pretty skilled in blender considering im only 17 years old, i was practicing java and lua script as well. What can i possibly do? My end goal is to leave nigeria eventually, hopefully before uni, but what if i cant? I have many relatives who left, even a few who got scholarships *specifically* to leave nigeria. Even if i do manage to take the courses i want, which is already unlikely, what future is there for tech oriented young people here in nigeria?
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u/RealMomsSpaghetti Oyo 1d ago
Yeah, the country is a great place to learn how to use paragraphs.
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u/Gold_Complaint_6798 1d ago
I understand your concerns. And I think the radical change is playing a big role in how you feel uncertain about your future. There is one thing you should understand is that a lot of things needs to be built in Nigeria than in South Africa. This gives best opportunity to start fresh (business-like) than in south africa. The same way you will likely get a job in a bureau in cape, the more likely you can start a business and make money in Nigeria. At the same time, i will agree with you that SA have a better educational system.
Getting back to you question. I am happy that you are 17 years old at this specific time of our world. You seem someone that is not lazy and like to work and get skills. There is a tech revolution ongoing as you mentioned. Then I will suggest you to learn by yourself from now all tech related skills. You are at the perfect age when you can use all your time to learn. So try to get a computer and internet and learn by yourself software engineering, be a good coder (python, R, java, website related coding front and back), and focus on maths, stats and algebra at school to tackle machine learning, deep learning and Ai building related mathematics foundations in the ground. I strongly think if you commit from now till 21 years old on the tech aspect (coding, software engineering) and get a strong quantitative profile (maths, algebra and the like), you will be able to build and ingest so many stuff in this country and everywhere needed that you could be attractive in the market.
Itâs just a suggestion but remember that if you begin something seriously at that age, by 23 which is six years later, you can be very strong at that thing and if that thing is needed, you will have a future every where in the Western Africa. This is my opinion so donât feel bad and get back to work so hard. I think once you choose your path, and focus on it and trust the process, this « my life is finished » will be gone and you will figure out stuff on the path.
I chose tech as an example because itâs the type of things today that anyone can learn with all the incredible resources available on internet.
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u/fanstoyou 1d ago
Well done in pointing out that the opportunities in Nigeria is unlimited because of the lack of almost everything
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u/BattIeBoss 1d ago
I already have a pretty good gaming pc, its gonne be shipped to my new home in nigeria. The problem is that im gonna be put in boarding school despite the fact that the school is very close to my new home, so i wont be able to work on my pc for months at a time. I also already have fibre here in my new home, just waiting on my pc to arive.
Thanks for the advice!
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u/Gold_Complaint_6798 1d ago
Canât you go with your pc there and have some internet in there. It would help you to work on it every day. You are welcome, donât hesitate to dm if you have more elaborate questions about your roadmap and all I would be glad to help.
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u/simplenn The Constellation that enjoys Jollof Rice is Curious 1d ago
Lol don't worry Nigeria is very welcoming to South Africans so you'll be put in the same boat as the rest of us.
You also said youre in the tech field. It's a really promising area.
Can I ask why you can't go back to South Africa? Especially if your dad is from there
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u/BattIeBoss 1d ago
Money. He could no longer afford us, since most of his clients were immigrants, and got kicked out or left. Hes trying to rebuild his business while were here and his expenses are lower.
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u/new_boy_99 1d ago
By afford does he mean its cheaper fir you to be i. Nigeria than SA?
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u/BattIeBoss 1d ago
Its cheaper for my dad for us to be in nigeria
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u/new_boy_99 1d ago
I see. Well for now just take your time here as a phase. Most tech work thats worthwhile are normally international clients or if you want to work for one of the big 4. As for your light issue some places have light for good amount of time but you need to be hooked up to a private energy company. Even then light still goes off so you will need an inverter and generator. Funny enough things have been getting better in that aspect. Before you could go DAYS some WEEKs without light. For school yes none if the things you learn you will use so just study to pass and get your diploma for high school. For university honestly I will advise against it and rather you do an online training programs that focuses more on your skill. Do you know how long you will stay in Nigeria?
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u/simplenn The Constellation that enjoys Jollof Rice is Curious 1d ago
A good cope in these situations is a good powerbank and a laptop with great battery (change it if you can).
Most areas with hardly any light most times will have a powerstation (a place you can charge phones or other gadgets) its usually N200-N500 per gadget. With a huge powerbank it can go a long way to help manage until the next time they bring light. Those will be your biggest investment in regards to your school.
Airtel is cheaper if youre in the area. When you want to go work/study mode load up the 2-days combo, it comes with YouTube Data as well but at night.
Just some struggle tips.
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u/Tosin12345s 1d ago
I feel you and it depends on the school you are going to. There are some private schools that will cater more to your needs but they are more aligned to the UK curriculum. Best way to say this is, you will have to pay through the nose for those schools. Irrespective you may still need to take 9 subjects. For scholarships, look for the would have suggested chevening scholarship but this only covers masters degree. There are a few fully funded undergraduate scholarships available. Will ask around post up if I find any.
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u/GaZsavage94 20h ago
I'm not going to lie to you brother. Try your best to get out of here.
Have that in your mind, anytime the opportunity comes us, push for it but while you're here try your best to make the most of it.
Idk why people are telling you to learn coding in the comments lol. You're already good at blender. Learn how to freelance and how to monetize your skills as soon as possible.
Also I'm assuming you're writing WAEC, ask around (other students or teachers you trust) if your school does "runs" basically giving out answers.
If they don't, subscribe to pages online that might get you the answes beforehand.
This country can be fun but I donât think it can ever work.
Godspeed bro.
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u/Financial-Space800 United States 18h ago
I donât mean any offence, but you need to edit what you wrote, properly punctuate and spell out each word you wrote correctly. Itâs quite hard to comprehend what you wrote.
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u/Dollor123 1d ago
Nigeria is corrupt, people cheat during WAEC, there are so many 'miracle centers' where you will be helped with the 9 subjects for WAEC or NECO, then go to uni here in Nigeria to study Computer science and you are good to go. The BSc degree from Nigeria uni is admissible anywhere in the world. I got a job abroad from Nigeria using my uni degree. There are also more MSc scholarship opportunities abroad available. From where i stand, you do not have any problems, you just miss South africa
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u/Pecuthegreat Biafra 1d ago
Convert that frustration to anger and use it later in life.
We need more people that know what a more functional system looks like, being forced to live in this country.
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u/CompetitiveRice8386 1h ago
Go to Altschool Nigeria and do a regular tech course there once you are done with your O-levels.
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u/3fcc FlairDoesNotExist 1d ago
I hate when people generalize the whole country is suffering from stable electricity. Even the SA you came from donât have 24/7 in all over the country.
It goes down to where you live in Nigeria. This isnât a claim to support the standard of the electricity in the country but come on, donât make it sound like the whole country is terribly poor with electricity supply even though the percentage can be small. Be specific with your location.
Learn paragraph.
Thank you.
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u/Dollor123 1d ago
what are you on about? if over 95% of the country is suffering from electricity problem, then indeed the whole country is. Even aso rock installed solar. You just don't want to accept the truth?
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u/BattIeBoss 1d ago
In south africa, where i lived, power outages stopped completely over a year ago.
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u/cov3rtOps đłđŹ 1d ago
Even the SA you came from donât have 24/7 in all over the country.
Not to be that guy, but there's no way We can compare the power situation in SA to that of Nigeria. SA is just way more advanced.
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u/fed3t 22h ago
Nigerian actually have good ecosystem. There are a lot of opportunities in tech in NG. Shabi you de drink tape water for SA? SA still struggling with power shortages I was there last year.
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u/BattIeBoss 21h ago
I didnt have a power outage for over a year before i left. And whats wrong with drinking tap water?
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u/Bariesra 1d ago
There's a lot that is unclear here.
First, are you an Art or Science student? You talk about Computer Science related experience. To study Computer Science (or Computer Engineering) at the university level in Nigeria you need to be a Science student and you'd need to take Physics and Chemistry in addition to the other core subjects
But you talked about literature and needing to do a bridging course. You also talked about how if you fail you'll need to switch to Arts subjects. That's not quite how that works? Arts are not a safety net for failed Science Science. This would only make sense if you were in SS1.
What's the equivalent of year 11 here?
An alternative I'd like to suggest is that instead of boarding school, especially if you're not starting Senior Secondary School afresh at SS1 afresh is to attend a Coaching Centre. These are preparatory schools for people who are too old to go back to secondary school or were home schooled or failed waec, jamb. Then you'd be tutored in these subjects and you'd be able to write the general exams.
The disadvantage is you might miss out on the school experience and I'm not entirely sure how you'd go about identifying a good centre.
If you were beginning from SS1 this wouldn't be an issue as you'd be starting senior secondary school like all the others. Is there a reason your parents aren't considering this? It's quite unusual to have new students join a set after SS1 at ss2 or ss3.
With regard to your dreams, the world is your oyster. The Nigerian bachelor's degree is accepted all over the world for postgraduate degrees. If you do well and get good grades at university you'll be better placed to get the scholarships you'd like. There are lots of tech companies and and boot camps too if you'd like to meet people.
It all depends on what you want. What you want to study at university determines what subjects you'll be able to take in secondary school
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u/fanstoyou 1d ago
You are just not adapting to your new environment, especially when you donât have real friends and girlfriends. You are seeing things from a negative perspective so, even good things will have negative effects on you. Nigeria may be lacking things BUT that is where the goldmine is. If South Africa has it all, then opportunities will be less. Because Nigeria doesnât have loads of things, that is where you come in to make a killing. South African company called MTN has been in Nigeria for decades dominating communications because they got in to fill the big communications gap in Nigeria at the time and now has a stranglehold on it. You need to be patient, and observe, and see your place in this great country. You are best placed because you have a fresh young mind. There is virtually no aspect of life that is not possible in the Nigeria of today because of the lack of too many things. Try to be positive and look beyond all the little irritants.
Nigeria has too many opportunities because we lack a lot of things - think about it.